Accuracy is crucial when you are handling the injured

E-Plus emergency ambulance in Nairobi on May 23, 2018. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • When handling a distress call you have to be very keen because the action you take could make the difference between life and death.

  • Although Kenya has had several medical emergencies, not many people know how things play out in emergency response.

  • This is especially true when a national disaster strikes.

"He flashed me and I called him back. All he kept repeating was 'Mrembo tunauliwa, tunauliwa (my dear we are about to be killed, we are about to be being killed)…'”

These words still ring in Alvina Brauhauser’s mind, three-and-a-half years after the Westgate Mall attack. Ms Brauhauser was at the E-Plus Medical Services dispatch centre in South C when a colleague who was providing emergency cover at a cooking contest on the mall’s rooftop made a frantic beep, which turned what began as a normal day into a nightmare.

“He continued: Niko chini ya gari, usiongee na nguvu (I am hiding under the ambulance, speak softly). I advised him not to talk, but also not to hang up. I wanted to hear what was going on. I immediately alerted colleagues from the emergency operations centre since I thought it was a robbery. I could hear gunshots in the background. Unfortunately, I could not trace the paramedics. But about 10 minutes later, I learnt that it was a terrorist attack.

“Numerous calls started coming in and I immediately directed all ambulances to a location near Westgate so that they could begin rescue operations in case they could access the area.

“I was using an office mobile phone, through which all the calls were coming. A woman called me from the basement parking. ‘They are all here... My dad has been shot,’ she whispered. I could hear kids screaming in the background. Here I was in the dispatch office with just one mobile phone. I had sent all the ambulance teams in Nairobi and I could not answer all the incoming calls. I have never felt to helpless.

Inside an E-Plus ambulance at Kenya Red Cross offices in Nairobi, on May 23, 2018. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

“Luckily, about 10 staff members were recalled to come and help. We attend to many emergencies in a day, but when it is someone you know, and they tell you they are about to be killed and you can actually hear gunshots in the background, your mind remains fixed there. You have sent all the ambulances you have, and this person is hiding under another one.

“I left this place at 10.30pm when we changed shifts. The team on the ground was exhausted, so I went to provide back-up. We were working 24 hours. There was a staging area at the Oshwal Centre opposite Nakumatt Ukay. We immediately set up a command post.

“We had to write down the names of the teams on the ground and start checking all the information coming in. It was a very scary day to work in a dispatch centre, yet the service meant the difference between life and death.”

LEVEL-HEADEDNESS

Today, Ms Brauhauser is the dispatch supervisor at the E-Plus Medical Services, the emergency rescue arm of the Kenya Red Cross.

Although she has coordinated numerous other emergency responses, including the recent floods, droughts, and road accidents, the Westgate terror attack remains the most nerve-racking and exhausting.

Working in a dispatch centre calls for level-headedness. And you have to be a fast thinker, empathetic, and able to make quick and appropriate decisions, she shares.

Although Kenya has had several medical emergencies, not many people know how things play out in emergency response. This is especially true when a national disaster strikes.

The E-Plus Medical Services emergency dispatch centre is prepared to act at the shortest notice at all times. It is fully equipped with UHF and VHF radio communication to facilitate coordination with its fleet of ambulances across Kenya, and is manned round the clock in shifts.

E-Plus emergency operator Patrick Rikii in Nairobi on May 23. 2018. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

There are four dispatchers on call at all times. Their work entails receiving emergency calls, quickly recording the information, asking the crucial questions relating to the emergency and its location, and offering basic first aid advice as they dispatch an ambulance to the location.

“Of importance to us is the name and age of the patient, where they are, the details of the nature of the emergency, and whether the patient has any underlying medical conditions. But before we get here, we have to calm down the caller and take charge of the conversation as fast as we can,” says Ms Brauhauser.

With the help of GPS tracking equipment, the dispatch officers can locate the ambulance closest to an accident scene or the location of the caller and direct the ambulance to the scene. And as they do this, they guide the caller on how to administer first aid.

But it is the 3CX telephone system at the centre, which queues calls and records more than 60 calls at a go, that enhances efficiency.

“We can track and respond to a call immediately. This enables us to monitor the situation in real time,” offers Ms Brauhauser.

HOW WE WORK

The centre is extremely busy, with calls coming in, instructions being given, and guidance being offered, fleets being coordinated and panicking callers being counselled.

From observation, it is clear that the workers have to be alert at all times and work with precision because a small detail, if missed or misheard, can affect the outcome of the emergency.

E-Plus emergency logistics officer Amran Jumanne in Nairobi on May 23, 2018. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Nairobi, there are 12 fully-equipped E-Plus ambulances strategically placed in areas that have been identified as prone to emergencies, such as along the major highways, including Mombasa, Thika and Jogoo roads, as well as in residential areas such as Buru Buru, South C and around City Cabanas.

The advanced tracking equipment can also monitor the fuel and battery levels in an ambulance, offers Mr Amran Jumanne, the logistics officer.  He can identify the real-time location of every ambulance at all times. From his monitor, he can tell their movements, including the speed at which they are moving.

For instance, on this Wednesday morning at 9.45am Mr Jumanne shows DN2 how he can monitor the ambulance parked outside Makindu Sub-County Hospital in Makueni, access its dashboard and see the mileage as well as both battery and fuel levels.

Another ambulance from Homa Bay is at Sachangwan, heading for Nakuru. It is moving at 58 kilometres per hour.

Managing director Susan Ong'ong'a at Kenya Red Cross offices, Nairobi, on May 23, 2018. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Every ambulance has two fuel tanks and is fitted with UHF and VHF radio communication that links it with the centre.

“Our maximum speed limit is 80 kilometres per hour. They are fully equipped with all the necessary medical equipment and are manned by qualified medical personnel to stabilise the patients. Speeding is not necessary,” he says, adding that the siren is used only in traffic to alert other motorists to give way.

When a patient is on board, the dispatch centre and the driver use coded language to manage the his or her relatives to avoid causing panic.

Sometimes the emergency response teams also get injured, as happened recently, when their ambulance collided with a lorry on the Ol Kalou-Njambini road.